While some would classify it as inconsistency, to me there’s a level of consistency in the Bruins’ play this season that’s quite admirable.

Despite a much better effort than they put forth in losing at TD Garden to Detroit 6-1 Friday night, the Bruins still fell, 4-2, in the second half of the home-and-home series this afternoon.

Boston’s two-game losing streak matches its season-high for consecutive regulation defeats, and they’ve only lost more than two straight (an 0-2-1 stretch) once all year. On the other side of the coin, they’ve won more than three in a row just once.

For all the criticism Bruins head coach Claude Julien takes, everyone has to give him credit for his ability to keep his team’s confidence level high even after a spanking like the one Boston took the other night. The Bruins almost never produce two stink bombs in a row.

Some of that ire that goes Julien’s way should instead be stored up and directed at the front office should the Bruins ignore the signs they need to make some moves and fail to sufficiently upgrade between now and the Feb. 28 trade deadline.

And for general manager Peter Chiarelli, that could require him to trade any players under his control with the exception of a handful of guys.

Let’s look at where the Bruins stand two weeks before the trade deadline. They’re in first in the Northeast Division and third in the Eastern Conference. They’ve had mixed results against some of the other top teams in the East, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. They’ve handled Washington and Tampa Bay at times. They’ve struggled against Montreal. Against the West they’ve had their problems, with two losses to Detroit and one to San Jose. You probably can’t draw any conclusions from Boston’s season-opening split with Phoenix in Prague, but the Bruins beat Dallas convincingly. Boston has yet to face Nashville or Vancouver.

So if just fine-tuning the current roster or standing pat is Chiarelli’s choice, the Bruins probably have a solid chance to win a round of playoffs for the third straight year, or maybe even win two in one spring based on their results against the mettle of the league. If that’s the minimum goal, then Chiarelli can keep most of his picks and prospects stashed in his office and only part with “expendable” roster guys like Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler to improve slightly. And then he can roll the dice that the club’s streaky wingers will score enough to supplement what the team hopes will be all-world goaltending throughout the postseason and suddenly Boston will find itself on an unlikely run deeper than the last two years.

If this is the year to go for it, then the Bruins have to be more creative when it comes to their trade-deadline dealings so they can put more than just a “consistent” club on the ice. Detroit, San Jose, and even Montreal, have written a blueprint for beating the Bruins, based on a solid forecheck to pressure Boston’s defense, taking away the walls and moving the puck quickly to prevent a Bruins forecheck from forming. That’s why going forward the Bruins must add that ever-elusive puck-moving defenseman and at least one skill forward (a wing or center), preferably with above-average speed, to be favored in most best-of-seven series come April.

You can argue whether this is the season for the Bruins to “go for it.” With Pittsburgh battling injuries, the Flyers still sticking their 25-year plan of making a run without a dominant No.1 goaltender, Washington banged up and Montreal down two key defensemen, I see no reason for the Bruins to try with all their might to make the Stanley Cup drought end at 39 years.

“Going for it” could mean doing more than just scouring the bottom of the league for which players are available from the sellers. It means kicking the tires on some “hockey deals” – maybe a Brad Park for Phil Esposito for the modern era – in order to land a player for a package or player the other team, contender or pretender, can’t refuse.

I’ve floated different names over the last couple weeks, and I’m not going to rehash that list here. This is more about not falling in love with the players wearing Boston’s sweaters right now. Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara, Nathan Horton, Patrice Bergeron, Marc Savard and Dennis Seidenberg (limited) all have no-trade clauses. After that sextet, maybe only Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin should be off the trade table. That’s right, even David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, Steven Kampfer and Johnny Boychuk should be in play.

The reason teams are sellers this time of year is because they lack the type of talent to be anywhere but the league’s bottom five or six. Maybe the Bruins have to look toward Chicago, where the Blackhawks have to be desperate to swap some talent for talent in an effort to get into the playoff picture. Carolina’s reportedly looking to shed some salary without dropping out of the race, and Atlanta could probably stand to make some personnel moves in its effort to grab a playoff spot.

Sure, there aren’t many sellers in the West and the prices might be high, but that’s where Chiarelli is going to have to be bold and maybe make a deal that’ll put another team in the playoffs and his team over the top. He doesn’t even have to mortgage the future much if the acquired players are under contract beyond this year.

The Bruins should look at the results of this two-game set with Detroit as the measuring stick that it was and Chiarelli should explore all avenues in an effort to close the gap between his team and the Red Wings-level squads of the league. That gap might not be this small for long, and any number of internal and external factors could close that championship window before the Bruins get to the golden future so many are predicting for them once their prospects ripen and those picks are put to use.

The tradeable players far outnumbers the untouchables in the Bruins’ dressing room right now, and Chiarelli must make the moves – painful or not – to turn his consistent club into a dominant one that can win a championship.

Matt, just out of curiosity .. how often do you look at your older posts? sometimes i write things to get others opinion while sometimes im really interested to see if you, yourself write back .. but i realize this is older post. thanks

trade claude.. isnt it time he got some of the blame for this ? all we do is keep going from one player to the next.. soon we are all gonna hate our entire team and continue to let claude go.. get rid of the guy.. look at us fans .. now we are saying trade krejci.. who is a cheap #2 option center.. those are becoming tougher to find in todays cap .. im getting sick of beating this dead claude.. whoops i mean horse

I’m not opposed to trading someone. I am opposed to trading Saguin (way to early to give up on him) or Toronto’s draft pick. After watching Detroit spank the Bruins two games in a row, I don’t think the Bruins are Stanley Cup contenders, and I don’t think they are one or two players away.

Good blog Matt … fully agree, if the deal is there to be had and can help this team get over the top without mortgaging the future, do it. Krejci is certainly tradeable if the target is an elite center. I’m hoping PC makes a big push for Pitkanen, hopefully he won’t cost that much though.

My guess is, though, that at the end of the day we’ll see a good-very good PMD and a depth forward added and maybe a veteran depth forward.

I agree with MK. I would consider everyone tradeable right now, including Rask. I mean why not trading him? Thomas has more 2 or three good years under his belt which give us a good time to find someone new.
I think Krecji can go too. It´s not that I don´t like Either players I just agree with MK about not fallingin love with any one right now.
After the Detroit game it´s pretty clear to me that they don´t know how to handle teams that play without any intensity like the Red Wings but that can burn you with speed and skill, And when it comes down to playoffs time we will need to learn how to beat teams like Detroit.

Listen, I’ve been saying all year that they need to get another puck moving d-man with some sweet feet, but lets not pin this teams entire year on these past two games.
Friday was a as much trap game as you can have. A let down, from an intensity stand point, was inevitable. Sunday was a matinee game, which they are 2 & 4 in for the season. They flat out don’t perform well in early games.
They had more breakdowns in these past two games then I’ve seen all season. Think about it. When’s the last time that we’ve seen the defense first Bruins give up more 2-on-1’s then a drunk chick at a college hockey party? Yeah, it’s pretty few and far between. Nevermind the fact that one goal yesterday, was a result of one of the worst hockey plays that I’ve ever seen (Bert’s on Marchands gift, which Brad made up for) and that another came on a busted coverage play where Chris Drapper out skated Tyler Seguin. Tell me, how many times out of ten do you see that happening again?
Poorly timed pinches and breakdowns in coverage is what we saw for 5 periods (yesterdays first period was very good for the B’s and they won that stanza) in these last two games, not so much personnel issues, IMO. Let’s not bury this team, or blow it up becuase of two poor games against one of the leagues elite.

If dallas continues to play poorly why not make them an offer for richards.Kreji/Staurt and Hammil or 2/3rd rounder.Only if richards would resign longterm though.He has proven his worth in the playoffs as he carried the bolts to a cup.A better playmaker than savy was plus our powerplay would have a true quarterback.I think they need to shake things up abit,or a repeat of last year will occur.I’m still paying off the smashed TV from the philly series!

Wow, too many ppl on here forgot last years melt-down! We have the same players and they just proved they would be swept in the Cup final if they played Detroit. I think everyone is tradeable. Savard is probably done for good, so lets trade for a top 2 center and get a puck moving defenceman. Maybe swing a deal for a top 6 winger too. Change will do this team some good. They are too comfortable!

I agree Matt. If we can make a move along the lines of Krejci/Stuart, Krejci/Boychuck for a Nash/Richards type player I’m all for it. Throw Tuukka in there too.
Anyone could come out of the East right now and even if the B’s don’t win the Cup the experience of a deep playoff run would be priceless.

I have to reiterate to all, I’m not saying “Trade Rask” or “Trade Krejci.” The point of the story is Chairelli has to keep an open mind and not miss a great opportunity because he’s so in love with what he’s got.

I have to disagree with Krejci No. 1. This team needs to add an NHL-level center to this team, not to trade one away.

But other than that, the author couldn’t have said it better: “This is more about not falling in love with the players wearing Boston’s sweaters right now.”

We love Kampfer…because he’s a Bruin.

We love Boychuk…because he was a stud in Providence and a current Bruin.

I’d have to put Rask in the mix of players that are nearly untouchable. For his cap-hit, age, and apparent skill, this is one player in this particular position that I’d hold my breath on and see what another year brings. He’ll be RFA at the end of ’12, and if he can revert to somewhere between last year and this year, then I’d say that’s pretty darn good for your future No. 1.

But if this team is serious about making a legitimate run, it’s obvious they need some help. And that mean their draft picks must be in play as well — even Toronto’s.

I agree with Matt on most. I think Rask is untouchable too. Other than that the others mentioned are fair game. Yes Krejci too. Although it would need to be significant to move him. I think maybe a day off in the upper box might send him a message (sound familiar Kampfer and Seguin???).

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I agree that there need to be some moves made. I don’t agree with some of the names on the list though.

Wheeler is expendable. The little that he brings on the PK is replaceable with Paille.
Hamill has fallen flat for the last time. He’s too small. If we can find someone willing to take him on as part of a trade then good.
In my mind the defensive choices are the more difficult ones to make. I like the players we have, but realize for that “puck moving d” we need to give something up.

Tuukka needs to stay. If Thomas goes down to injury in April we don’t have him the season is over and the gamble has failed. Let alone in the future.

Anyone who says they should trade Rask should not be allowed to have a blog. Secondly, “That’s why going forward the Bruins must add that ever-elusive puck-moving defenseman”. Sounds alot like Kampfer, but apparently according to Matt just because this rookie isn’t Bobby Orr he isn’t good enough.

Please, let’s not get too carried away with trading away key pieces like krejci. We so have shortcomings bbut we should show patience like ken Holland did when his teams got knocked out of the first round for consecutive years before they won in 07.
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